Class I Briefs: CN, NS

Former Chair of CN's Board of Directors Robert L. Pace

CN renames its Rockingham Yard in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to honor former Chair of the Board of Directors Robert L. Pace. Also, Norfolk Southern (NS) lays out its East Taggart Street reopening plan.

CN announced Sept. 21 via a LinkedIn post that in honor of the “exceptional leadership” of former Chair of the Board of Directors Robert L. Pace, it has renamed its Rockingham Yard in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Pace Yard.

“This reflects our deep appreciation for Mr. Pace’s unwavering commitment to CN’s growth as an essential enabler of the North American economy,” the Class I railroad wrote.

Now that cleanup work has progressed on East Taggart Street, which has been closed to traffic since the NS train derailment in February, the Unified Command has determined it can be safely opened in the overnight hours.

This initial reopening, NS, says, will still include the presence of safety signs, lights, flagging personnel, site security, access controls and associated equipment, with continued air monitoring of the project for environmental safety.

Currently, traffic on the closed portion of East Taggart Street—from east of North Pleasant Drive to the Ohio-Pennsylvania border—has consisted of an average of 75 to 100 trucks per day. These trucks transport waste, equipment, and materials in and out of the cleanup work areas. Because of the risks associated with that much heavy traffic—and to maintain the safety of residents of the Village and workers—the Unified Command leading the ongoing emergency response made the decision to keep East Taggart Street closed.

Although there are no anticipated health risks along East Taggart Street associated with project activities, NS says the potential for cleanup-related odors may exist. As work proceeds, to ensure worker and community safety, the Unified Command will continue to evaluate site conditions for health and safety considerations. While traffic will be able to proceed through the work areas along East Taggart Street, access into active work areas will remain restricted to ensure public safety.

The Unified Command has established the following implementation schedule:

Phase I (Beginning on Monday, September 25)
Taggart Street will remain closed during daytime operations, from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Overnight, East Taggart Street will be opened in both directions for all traffic to pass
through the worksite. Safety controls will remain, including: signage, reduced speed,
flaggers.

Phase II (Anticipated to begin on Monday, October 23)
Following the conclusion of major excavation and soil removal activities, traffic on East
Taggart Street will reopen in both directions all day. Periodic traffic stoppage—of up to
15 minutes or more—should be expected during daytime working hours to allow for
truck traffic entering and leaving the cleanup site.

Phase III (Anticipated to begin at the end of the year)
As the project continues with confirmation soil sampling (Appendix E), East Taggart
Street will continue to be open to traffic in both directions all day, with intermittent
traffic stoppages. This is anticipated to continue through the first quarter of 2024, when
the project is currently expected to be completed.